Method of hand sewing moccasins

ABSTRACT

A method of hand sewing moccasins using an elongated length of flexible sewing thread having relatively rigid disposable integral needle means formed at opposite ends thereof and wherein the needle means are cut off and discarded when the sewing is completed.

United States Patent Peacock [451 July 18, 1972 METHOD OF HAND SEWING References Ci MOCCASINS UNITED STATES PATENTS 72] Inventor: Ralph W. Peacock, RD2 Bartlett Road, 3,525,109 8/1970 Batchelder et a1 12/ l 23 Norwich, 13815 2,731,653 l/1956 Glassman ..l2/142 MC 22 il Nov. 13 970 2,794,995 6/1957 Sh6l'bl'00k 12/142 MC [2!] Appl Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Related US. Application Data Attorney-Shoemaker and Mattare [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 753,611, Aug. 19, 57] ABSTRACT 1968, abandoned.

A method of hand sewing moccasins using an elongated length [52] US. Cl. ..l2/ 142 MC of flexible sewing thread having relatively rigid disposable in- [51] Int. Cl. ..A43d 9/00 regal eedle means formed at opposite ends thereof and of Search il R, wherein the needle means are cut off and discarded when the sewing is completed,

SCIains, 5 Drawing Figures 7 Patented July 18, 1972 INVENTOR w. PEACOCK 4 mam RALPH ATTORNEYS METHOD OF HAND SEWING MOCCASINS This application is a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No. 753,611, filed Aug. 19, 1968, and now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method of hand sewing moccasins using a sewing thread and disposable needle assembly wherein the needle means is formed integrally on a continuous length of sewing thread at spaced points along the length thereof with a pair of needle means disposed in end-toend relationship and then severed where the points of the needles meet to form predetermined lengths of thread having relatively rigid integral needle means on opposite ends of the thread thereby substantially reducing the time and cost involved as well as substantially reducing or eliminating the waste of thread heretofore encountered in the hand sewing of moccasins.

In the prior art, lengths of thread are received at shoe factories with several inches of frayed or flufied thread material at opposite ends thereof which must be cut off, and separate metal needles, including an open ferrule or eye at one end thereof are then crimped onto the ends of said lengths of sewing material. The necessity of cutting off the frayed ends of thread and of crimping separate metal needle means on the ends of the thread results in the loss of a substantial amount of material, and further, substantially increases the time and cost involved in hand lacing moccasins.

SUMNIARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method of hand sewing moccasins using a disposable sewing needle assembly wherein the thread has needle means integrally formed thereon when received at the shoe factory. Accordingly, there is no necessity to cut off any portion of the thread, and there is no resultant loss of material. Additionally, no time consuming operation is required for securing a needle to the thread since the needle means is formed integrally with the thread.

When the sewing operation has been completed, the needle assembly of the present invention is cut off and discarded. Therefore, a unique and simple moccasin sewing thread and needle assembly is provided wherein moccasins are hand sewed or laced in a very inexpensive and expeditious manner according to the method of the present invention, and which substantially reduces the time and effort required when utilizing the sewing thread and needle assembly for hand sewing moccasin-type shoes and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view schematically illustrating a portion of the apparatus employed for making the needle and thread assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a composite needle and thread assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a moccasin illustrating the manner in which the needle and thread assembly of the present invention is used to hand sew the components of the moccasin together;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating the material or portion of the end of the thread which is removed in prior art procedures.

DESCRIPTION OF the PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, a moccasin shoe is illustrated in FIG. 4 and includes an upper or vamp and a so-called plug" 11, intended to be sewed together through substantially aligned holes 12 and 13 punched therethrough, respectively.

The disposable sewing needle assembly of the present invention includes an elongated length of flexible thread 14 which may be formed of any suitable material such as cord,

synthetic material, leather, cotton, linen, silk and the like. In a typical example, this thread may be from about 0.020 to 0.050 inches in diameter and in the range of about 12 inches to inches in length, although these dimensions are not limiting and are merely for the purpose of illustration.

The assembly includes integral relatively rigid needle means 15 and 16 formed at the opposite ends of the length of thread. These needle means are molded on the ends of the thread and define pointed end portions 17 and 18. These end portions include shoulder means forming a 45 point relative to the longitudinal axis of the thread, and the portions 19 and 20 thereof maybefomiedmahillradiusfll'heneedlemeansmaybe molded of thermoplastic or thermosetn'ng pimtic materials by means of irtiecfion, compression or transfer molding processes.

The needle means may typically be formed of a plastic material approximately 2 inches in length and having an outer diameter in the range of about 0.050 inches to 0.080 incha.

The thread 14 is illustrated in FIG. 4 as partially sewed through the holes 12 and 13 provided in the pieces of material of the moccasin-type shoe. The sharp pointed ends of the needle means facilitate insertion of the sewing thread through the holes formed in the pieces of material of the shoe, and when the sewing has been completed, the free ends of the thread may be tied in place and then cut, whereupon the remaining portions of the thread and the integral needle means may be thrown away.

Referring to FIG. 1, a portion of the apparatus for making the thread and needle assembly is schematically illustrated and comprises a feed roller 21 from which a length of the thread 14 is fed through a pair of guide rolls 22 and 23. The thread then passes through a molding apparatus (not shown) wherein a mold having a mold cavity in the shape of the needle means 15 and 16 is disposed about the thread 14 at spaced positions along its length and the plastic material injected into the mold about the thread. The mold is constructed such that the needle ends 17 and 18 are disposed in end-to-end relationship on the thread with adjacent points 17 and 18 abutting as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3. After the molding step, the thread and needle assembly passes through apparatus 24 where suitable cutting means such as a blade 25 or the like severs the thread 14 between points 17 and 18 to form predetermined lengths of thread with needle assemblies 15 and 16 at the opposite ends thereof. In this manner, no thread is wasted, and the time heretofore required to cut off the end A of the thread 14 (FIG. 5) and to crimp a needle onto the end of the thread is eliminated. Also, the substantial amount of thread wasted by cutting ofi the end A of the thread is saved due to the fact that the needle means 15, 16 are formed integrally on a continuous length of thread, after which the thread is cut into predetermined lengths with integral needle means on opposite ends thereof.

Thus, according to the present invention, a continuous length of flexible sewing thread is provided and a plastic needle assembly comprising a pair of pointed needles disposed in end-to-end relationship is molded onto the thread at spaced intervals along its length. The needle means and thread is then severed at the point where the pointed ends of each pair of needles meet, forming a plurality of predetermined lengths of sewing thread having disposable, integral relatively rigid needle means at opposite ends thereof. The sewing thread is then used to hand sew the parts of the moccasin together by inserting the needles through the preformed holes in the parts of the moccasin and suitably sewing or crossing the thread back and forth through substantially aligned holes in the parts of the moccasin to secure the parts together. When the parts are sewed together, the free ends of the thread may be suitably tied and the needle means cut off and thrown away.

The present embodiment is illustrative and not restrictive, since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents, are therefore intended to be embraced by those claims.

I claim:

1. The method of hand sewing moccasins using a disposable sewing needle and thread assembly comprising providing mold means, passing a length of thread through said mold means, injecting a plastic material into said mold means and molding the needle means in place about said thread to form a elongate length of thread having an integral relatively rigid needle means formed at opposite ends thereof, providing parts of a moccasin having performed holes therein, securing said parts together by inserting the needle means through said holes and sewing said thread through the holes in the parts to secure the parts together, cutting the needle means off the ends of the thread, and discarding said cut needle means.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, including the steps of providing a continuous elongate length of thread and forming on the same length of thread a pair of needle means disposed end-to-end.

3. The method as defined in claim 2, including the subsequent step of severing said length of thread at the point where the ends of said needle means meet to fom1 predetermined lengths of thread having needle means at the ends thereof.

4. The method as defined in claim 3, including the steps of tying the free ends of the thread after the parts of the moccasin are sewed together and then cutting off and discarding the needle means.

5. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein the needle means are provided with pointed ends.

6. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein the needle means are formed from plastic.

7. The method as defined in claim 6, wherein the needle means are molded to the thread.

8. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein the thread is made of cotton. 

1. The method of hand sewing moccasins using a disposable sewing needle and thread assembly comprising providing mold means, passing a length of thread through said mold means, injecting a plastic material into said mold means and molding the needle means in place about said thread to form a elongate length of thread having an integral relatively rigid needle means formed at opposite ends thereof, providing parts of a moccasin having performed holes therein, securing said parts together by inserting the needle means through said holes and sewing said thread through the holes in the parts to secure the parts together, cutting the needle means off the ends of the thread, and discarding said cut needle means.
 2. The method as defined in claim 1, including the steps of providing a continuous elongate length of thread and forming on the same length of thread a pair of needle means disposed end-to-end.
 3. The method as defined in claim 2, including the subsequent step of severing said length of thread at the point where the ends of said needle means meet to form predetermined lengths of thread having needle means at the ends thereof.
 4. The method as defined in claim 3, including the steps of tying the free ends of the thread after the parts of the moccasin are sewed together and then cutting off and discarding the needle means.
 5. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein the needle means are provided with pointed ends.
 6. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein the needle means are formed from plastic.
 7. The method as defined in claim 6, wherein the needle means are molded to the thread.
 8. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein the thread is made of cotton. 